Steering device for pallet truck

ABSTRACT

A steering device for decreasing a turning radius of a pallet jack includes a ground engaging member connected to a support member of the pallet jack between a main wheel and an extensible wheel. The load supporting member of the pallet jack is positionable between a raised position and a lowered position. A first turning radius of the pallet jack is defined by the distance between the main wheel and the extensible wheel. While the extensible wheel engages the ground when the support frame is positioned towards the raised position, positioning the support member towards the lowered position engages the ground engageable member with the ground causing the extensible wheel to disengage the ground. The main wheel and the ground engageable member then define a second turning radius which is less than the first turning radius.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/012,431 entitled STEERING DEVICE FOR PALLET TRUCK filed on 15 Dec.2004 which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to pallet jacks. In particular,the present invention relates to a device for decreasing a turningradius of a pallet jack.

In the art of material handling, pallets jacks typically include wheeleddevices intended for the manual lifting of a pallet, with a load restingthereon, to transport the pallet and load from one work area to another.U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,669 discloses an exemplary pallet jack, or hydraulicpallet truck. Pallet jacks typically include forked support arms uponwhich extensible rollers are mounted at terminal ends. The opposing endsof the forked support arms are typically connected to one another andattached in some fashion to a pivotal wheel with a hydraulic lift. Thepivotal wheel allows the user to steer the pallet jack when eitherpushing or pulling the pallet jack. The hydraulic lift is operativelyconnected the wheel and the extensible rollers to raise and lower thesupport arms to engage and transport the pallet or to disengage thepallet jack from the pallet.

Due to the relatively heavy loads pallet jacks are intended totransport, and the size of the pallets themselves, the length of theforked arms are designed to provide the greatest support and stabilitywhen in contact with the pallets. Therefore, to maximize stability, theroller of each fork is terminally positioned on each fork to maximizethe distance each roller is from the main wheel. However, by positioningthe rollers at such a distance from the main wheel, the pallet jack issometimes difficult to steer in tight or crowded work areas due to thefact that the turning radius of the pallet jack is defined by thedistance between the main wheel and the rollers. The turning radius ofthe pallet jack becomes especially problematic when the work area doesnot provide for adequate space, as is the case with crowded warehousesor storerooms. Also, because the steerable wheel is positioned at oneend and the rollers are positioned at the opposite end, the center ofcurvature of the pallet jack is virtually positioned between the rollersat the terminal ends of the forked arms. Therefore, positioning theforked arms to engage the pallet is made difficult because very littlelateral movement occurs at the terminal ends of the forked arms relativeto lateral movement made at the opposing end having the main steeringwheel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is a device attachable to a pallet jack forfacilitating steering and positioning of the pallet jack. The deviceincludes a housing structure having at least one roller partiallydisposed therein for contacting the ground. The housing structureattaches to an underside of a support member by way of a clampingmechanism. The clamping mechanism includes a spacer plate disposedbetween the housing structure and a locking plate. A threaded fastenerconnects and urges the locking plate and the housing structure togetherto clamp against a flange connected to the support member. The palletjack is positionable between a raised position and a lowered position bymeans of a hydraulic mechanism. The hydraulic mechanism is connected toa main wheel and extensible rollers terminally positioned on the supportmember. While in the raised position, the extensible rollers and themain wheel contact the ground, defining a first turning radius of thepallet jack. Upon lowering the pallet jack, the rollers of the steeringdevice engage the ground while the extensible rollers disengage theground. Because the steering device is positioned between the main wheeland the terminally positioned extensible rollers, the resulting turningradius of the pallet jack is decreased thus allowing for better controland positioning of the pallet jack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a steering device of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pallet jack implementing the steeringdevice of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an underside of a pallet jack with thesteering device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the steering device of the presentinvention taken along lines 4-4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side-view of a pallet jack in a raised position and alowered position (dashed lines).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A steering device of the present invention is generally indicated at 10in FIG. 1. The steering device 10 is preferably used in conjunction withmaterial handling equipment, for example, a pallet jack 12 asillustrated in FIG. 2. The pallet jack 12, or hydraulic pallet truck, isa material handling device known to those skilled in the art of materialhandling for moving pallets (not shown) within a work area, such as awarehouse, storage room or within a manufacturing facility. For purposesof the present invention, an exemplary pallet jack 12 includes forkedmembers 14 having extensible rollers 16 attached to an A-frame 18 havinga positionable main wheel 20. The main wheel 20 connects to a steeringrod 22 which also actuates a hydraulic lifting mechanism 24, operativelyconnected to the extensible rollers 16 and main wheel 20, for raisingand lowering the pallet jack 12. In the lowered position, the palletjack 12 can be positioned such that the forked members 14 are disposablewithin a pallet resting on the ground. Actuating the hydraulic liftingmechanism 24 positions the pallet jack 12 toward the raised positionresulting in the forked members 14 engaging the pallet and lifting thepallet from the ground, whereby the pallet can be transported to thedesired portion of the work area.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the steering device 12 of the presentinvention includes a housing structure 26 containing wells 28 forreceiving ground engageable rollers 32 therein. The housing structure 26also contains a cylindrical aperture 36 orientated transverse to thedirection of the rollers 32 for receiving an axial shaft 38therethrough. Each roller 32 is disposable onto the axial shaft 38 tosecure each roller 32 to the housing structure 26. The positioning ofthe cylindrical aperture 36, and subsequently the axial shaft 38, issuch that will allow each roller 32 to partially dispose within thehousing structure 26, permitting an outer surface 40 of each roller 32to extend past an outermost face 42 of the housing structure 26. Whendisposed upon the axial shaft 38, each roller 32 is allowed to freelyrotate.

The steering device 10 of the present invention is designed to affix toan underside 44 of each fork member 14, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Whileit is preferable that a steering device 10 be attached to each forkmember 14, it is well within the scope of the present invention tosupply only one steering device 10 to a single fork member 14. Whenimplementing the preferred embodiment of a steering device 10 on eachfork member 14, it is preferable to position each steering device 10 onthe respective fork member 14 directly opposite one another. It is alsopreferable to position each steering device 10 approximately half thedistance between the extensible roller 16 of each arm 14 and the mainwheel 20, however, each steering device 10 can be positioned oppositeone another at any desirable point along the underside of the respectivefork member 14.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, each fork member 14 is typically formed toinclude downwardly extending side members 46 to provide overall rigidsupport to the fork member 14. The downwardly extending side members 14include flange portions 48 extending therefrom. Each flange 48 includesan upwardly extending rib 50. Disposed along a center underportion 52 ofeach fork member 14 is a connecting rod 54 which operatively connectsthe hydraulic lifting mechanism 24 with the respective extensible roller16. The steering device 10 is designed to frictionally engage the flangemembers 48 while permitting the connecting rod 54 to travel freelytherebetween. To accomplish this, spacer plates 56 dispose betweenrespective locking plates 58. Each locking plate 58 includes threadedapertures 60 for receiving threaded screws 62 which connect each lockingplate 58 to the housing structure 26. The housing structure 26 alsocontains apertures 64 for receiving the threaded screws 62.

Each locking plate 58 engages the rib 50 of the respective flange 48 andthe respective spacer plate 56. In turn, an inward face 66 of thehousing structure engages the respective flange 48 and respective spacerplate 56. Upon engaging the threaded screws 62 with the housingstructure 26 and the respective locking plate 58, each locking plate 58and the housing structure 26 are urged together and into furtherengagement against the respective spacer plate 56 and respective rib 50,thereby frictionally engaging the housing structure 26 to the forkedmember 14. It should be noted, however, that alternative embodiments mayhave flange members 48 that do not include the upwardly extending rib50, in which case there is no need for the spacer plate 56, and thelocking plate 58 and housing structure 26 directly engage the flange 48to secure the steering device 10 to the fork member 14. It should alsobe noted, however, that other means of securing the housing structure 26to the forked member 14 are well within the scope of the presentinvention, including welding or gluing the housing structure 26 directlyonto the forked member 14, bolting the housing structure 26 directly tothe forked member 14 or using an external clamp to secure the housingstructure 26 to the fork member 14.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the pallet jack 12 is positionable between araised position 68 and a lowered position 70 (dashed lines). In theraised position 68, the extensible roller 16 of each arm 14 and the mainwheel 20 contact the ground and the steering device 10 is disengagedfrom the ground. This permits the pallet jack 12 to be used in aconventional manner when transporting pallets. As such, the turningradius of the pallet jack 12 while in the raised position 68 is definedby the distance between the main wheel 20 and the extensible rollers 16.However, upon lowering the pallet jack 12, the rollers 32 from eachsteering device 10 contact the ground, and further actuation from thelifting mechanism 24 causes the respective connecting rod 54 to lift therespective extensible roller 16 even further, causing the extensiblerollers 16 to disengage from the ground. At this point, only the rollers32 of the respective steering device 10 and the main wheel 20 contactthe ground. Thus, upon lowering the pallet jack 12 a new turning radiusis defined by the distance between the positioning of the steeringdevices 10 and the main wheel 20. Because the steering devices 10 arepositioned closer to the main wheel 20 than the extensible rollers 16 ofthe pallet jack 12, the turning radius is decreased. The decreasedturning radius permits the pallet jack 12 to be more maneuverable,especially in tight or congested spaces.

In operation, when the pallet jack 12 is in the lowered position 70, thesteering device 10 is in contact with the ground and the rollers 32permit the pallet jack 12 to be pushed or pulled in much the same manneras when the extensible rollers 16 are in contact with the ground.However, when in the lowered position 70, the pallet jack 12 is alsomaneuverable to pivot about the steering devices 10 with relation to themain wheel 20. This facilitates in positioning the front end of thepallet jack 12 to align the front end with pallet. Also, when thesteering devices 10 are positioned on each fork member 14 in thepreferred position, the turning radius of the pallet jack 12 isapproximately halved in comparison to the turning radius of the palletjack 12 when it is in the raised position 68.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A steering device for decreasing a turning radius of a pallet jack,the pallet jack including a main wheel and an extensible wheel connectedto a load supporting member, a first turning radius defined by thedistance between the main wheel and the extensible wheel, the loadsupporting member positionable between a raised position and a loweredposition, the steering device comprising a ground engaging memberfixedly attachable to the support member between the main wheel and theextensible wheel, wherein positioning the support member towards thelowered position the ground engageable member engages the ground,whereupon the main wheel and the ground engageable member define asecond turning radius which is less than the first turning radius. 2.The steering device of claim 1 wherein the device is non-positionablerelative to the support frame when attached thereto.
 3. The steeringdevice of claim 1 wherein the ground engageable member includes a rollerand further comprising: a housing member attachable to the support framebetween the main wheel and the extensible wheel, the roller partiallydisposed at a fixed position within the housing member; and an axialmember disposed within the housing member and the roller to rotatablysecure the roller to the housing member, whereupon lowering the supportframe from the raised position toward the lowered position the rollerengages the ground and the extensible wheel disengages from the ground.4. The device of claim 3 and further comprising a plate alignable withthe housing member and engageable with the support member of the palletjack, whereupon urging the plate and the housing together, the housingfrictionally secures to the support member.
 5. The device of claim 3wherein the support member includes a flange, the device furthercomprising a fastening plate alignable with the housing member andengageable with the flange, whereupon urging the fastening plate and thehousing member together, the housing member and the fastening platefrictionally secure to the flange.
 6. The device of claim 5 and furthercomprising a spacer plate positionable between the housing member andthe fastening plate to facilitate frictional engagement with the flange.7. A device to facilitate steering of a pallet jack, the pallet jackhaving a main wheel and at least one extensible wheel positioned atopposing ends of a support frame, the support frame positionable betweena raised position and a lowered position, the device comprising: ahousing member fixedly attachable to an underside of the support framebetween the main wheel and the at least one extensible wheel; and aroller for contacting the ground connected to the housing member,whereupon lowering the support frame from the raised position toward thelowered position the roller engages the ground and the extensible wheeldisengages from the ground, wherein a turning radius of the pallet jackis decreased in proportion to the distance between the main wheel andthe roller.
 8. The device of claim 7 and further comprising an axialmember disposed within the housing member and through the roller torotatably secure the roller to the housing member.
 9. The device ofclaim 7 and further comprising a plate alignable with the housing memberand engageable with the support member of the pallet jack, whereuponurging the plate and the housing together, the housing frictionallysecures to the support member.
 10. The device of claim 9 wherein thesupport member includes a flange, the device further comprising afastening plate alignable with the housing member and engageable withthe flange, whereupon urging the fastening plate and the housing membertogether, the housing member and the fastening plate frictionally secureto the flange.
 11. The device of claim 10 and further comprising aspacer plate positionable between the housing member and the fasteningplate to facilitate frictional engagement with the flange.
 12. Asteering device for a pallet jack comprising: a housing member; amechanism to secure the housing member to the pallet jack; at least oneroller at least partially disposed within the housing member at a fixedposition; and an axial member disposed within the housing member and theat least one roller to rotatably secure the at least one roller to thehousing member, wherein the pallet jack is positionable between anelevated position and a lowered position, wherein the at least oneroller does not engage the ground while the pallet jack is positionedtoward the raised position, whereupon positioning the pallet jack towardthe lowered position the at least one roller engages the ground tofacilitate steering of the pallet jack.
 13. The steering device of claim12 wherein the housing member fixedly attaches to the pallet jackbetween wheels positioned at approximate terminal ends of the palletjack.
 14. The steering device of claim 12 wherein the mechanism tosecure the housing member to the pallet jack comprises: a fasteningplate connectable to the housing member and engageable to the palletjack; and a fastener connecting the housing member to the fasteningplate to urge the fastening plate and the housing into frictionalengagement with the pallet jack.
 15. The steering device of claim 12 andfurther comprising a spacer plate positionable between the housingmember and the fastening plate to facilitate the frictional engagementof the fastening plate and housing member to the pallet jack.